Growing Up
by Sanya Aranel
Summary: The Jellicle kittens are growing up and finding their own place, but why does every cat seem to oppose where Electra has found hers? Following a forbidden path, Electra makes her own way to love and friendship, not caring who is against her. R&R please!
1. Kittens' Play

**Author's Note: Sorry for the terrible description, but I didn't want to give anything away, really! This is gonna be a longer story, so try to stick with it and check back often as I update as quickly as I can! Thanks, hugs and sugar cookies to anyone who bothers to read any of my stories! Reviews are MUCH appreciated! Regards, Sanya.**

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Pouncival could feel his hackles rising. He sniffed the air nonchalantly, barely lifting his head. Somecat was following him! No Jellicle either, by their scent. He tensed, but struggled to appear casual and unfazed. Slowly he made his way around the alleyway, creeping up around a crate. Suddenly he sprang out and leapt upon a dark, furry form, somersaulting across the ground. Pouncival curled his tail in tightly, using his favourite trick, and was able to roll to a halt and in his tracker to the ground, grinning.

"Ha! Gotcha, Kiran! Now yer my pris'ner!"

The captured kittens' ears fell. "Aw, I was gonna getcha. How'd you knowed it was me?"

Pounce touched a small, kittenish paw to his nose. "'Cos yew stink an' I smelleded you from all the way over der, dat's how."

"Do not stink, slashy-face!"

"Do too! An' yew can't call me names, you're da pris'ner, only I can call names."

"Hmph." Kirandar frowned and folded his paws across his chest, still pinned on his back. The frown was accented by V-shaped striped of dark ginger on his forehead. The rest of his coat was covered in streaks and blotches of dark brown mixed with more ginger.

Pouncival hopped up and Kirandar could stand again. "C'mon, let's go see the others," Pounce said proudly, while his rival's tail drooped dejectedly. "Now, don't make me drag yew by yer tail so yew don't try ta ekscape."

"I won't," the dark kitten grumbled.

They made their way down the alley to a large cardboard box on its side containing the odd jar or tin can used as makeshift furniture. Next to the box was a large sewer pipe that hadn't drained water for ages. They stepped inside the box where a black and white tom kitten was curled up comfortably.

"Misto!" Pouncival frowned. "Why aren't yew out helpin' ev'yone look fer pris'ners ta catch?"

Mistofelees stretched his front paws. "I wos waitin' for you ta come back... an' I didn't want ta get catched."

Pouncival rolled his eyes and sighed exhasperatedly. "But if yew never go out der you'll never catch nothin' neither."

Mistofelees wrinkled his small nose defiantly. "Yah, go call all da uvvers."

Pouncival lept up on top of the large pipe and threw his head back. "Jell'cle cats c'm one, c'mall!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "And da rest of youse too!" he added.

Slowly kittens began to gather to meet Pouncival and the others. First came a reddish-brown queen with a white bib and round, brown eyes, who sat down by Mistofelees. Then came a pure white kitten and a scruffier, rusty tabby with dizzying stripes. Following closely behind, tripping on her own tail was a tan and white tabby kit that seemed as if she could hardly walk yet.

'Who'd you catch?" Victoria looked up at Pouncival excitedly.

"Yah, Kiran tried ta git me but I's too quick her 'im an' I catchded him instead."

Four other small figures began to lump together a short distance away. The smallest one, cream with grey and brown smut and bright blue eyes hopped foreward.

"Aidan!" Pouncival wagged a paw sternly. "Yer not allowed ta stan' over here yet. Yew all gotta stay back der until we decided what ta do wif our pris'ner."

Ayden stuck his tounge out at Pouncival and scurried back to join the others. Pounce screwed up his face in thought.

"A'right, ev'yone get inna circle 'round Kir'ndar... not yew, Aidan." Pouncival rounded up all the Jellicle kittens around the dark-furred one. Electra flopped over on her back and batted at Kirandar's tail, giggling.

"Hey, stoppit," he grumbled.

'Shh!" Pounce shot him a look of warning. "Now, this time ev'yone can awks 'im a question, an' he izn't free till he can get one right. 'Mima, yew go first."

Jemima grinned and crouched playfully, staring at Kirandar. "A'right, now many starts iz inna sky at night"

Kirandar thought desperately. "Elevently-two?"

"Nope!" Jemima giggles and stuck up her nose. "Fee-hunnerd-an'-fifty-twelve!"

"Kiran's jaw dropped angrily. "How d'you know? I betcha you can't count dat big!"

"Shuddup," Pouncival turned the dark kitten to face Electra. "We're awkskin da queschins. Next!"

Electra sat up. "What colour was da sky dis morning at da sunrise?

Kiran looked crestfallen and made up an answer. "Pink?"

"Nah! It was gold an' yellow! You never gots up ta see it neither, you sleepyhead!"

Kiran groaned and turned to face Victoria who was holding Etcetera on her lap.

Vic thought for a moment. "Who's da biggest worrypaws inna whole Junkyard?"

Kiran looked scandalized. "You?" he guessed.

"No! It's Jellylorum, so there!"

"Tho der!" echoed Etcetera.

"That's no fair!" Kirandar whined. "How'm I s'posed ta know who's da biggest worrypaws in _yer_ Junkyard!?"

Victoria poked her tounge out and Etcetera swatted a tiny paw at him.

A scrawny tomkit standing by Aidan stepped forward. "Yeah, dat's no fair, take it back, 'Toria!"

Pouncival waved a paw dissmissively. "Nah, we're jus' too smart fer him. 'Kay, Kiran, I've gotten one. How many mice have I eated today?"

"Prolly four, little piggy."

Pouncival frowned and his ears fell flat.

"Dija? Did I get it right?" Kirandar leapt to his paws.

"No! ...Yes..."

"Yay!" Kirandar ran over to join Aidan and the small crowd, hopping up and down. They all made their way over to the pipe to stand by the Jelicles. The five of them sat down, intermingling with the Jellicle kittens. One of the queens raised her head.

"Hey, dat's no fair either, youse have gots six cats on yer side an' we've only gots five!"

Pouncival counted to Jellicle kittens present, checking to see if she was right. "Yeah, but see, Novianna, Cettie's just a baby an' can't ever really play proper. An' Misto jus' sits der an' doesn't play anyhow. So really we've gots," he counted in his head, "four an' you've got five."

"Oh," Novianna sat back down, satisfied.

Pouncival stood up again. "A'right, so today we catched Kiran dis time-"

"An' yesterday JaCoven caught you!" The skinny tomkit giggled.

'An' tomorrow I'm gonna capchure you, Caedmon!" Jemima grinned playfully.

Pouncival cleared his throat. "So I was sayin' dat-"

"Hey, let's play hide-an'-seek!" JaCoven stood up.

"Yeah!" Chorused each kitten.

The ginger and white queenkit covered her eyes with her paws. "One... two... six..."

Every kitten scampered away to hide, Etcetera giggling loudly and Victoria hushing her.

"Five... nine... 'leven... seven..."

Pouncival sighed and scurried away to hide in the pipe.


	2. Rain Rain, Go Away

Etcetera cooed and giggled as she lay on her back, trying to catch the raindrops that fell sparsely about the ground.

"Right," Pouncival tried to organize things once more. "Dey fink dey's gonna win again today, so we gotta catch 'em first!"

"Dat's what you said yesserday," remarked Jemima.

"Yah, I'm tired uv dis game." Mistofelees tickled the pads of Etcetera's feet and she giggled loudly. "We shudd play tag or somethin' dat we can all play togedder."

Pouncival thought. "Otay, but first we gotta catchum so ev'yone will come an' when day're all here we c'n play tag."

"Okay." Misto sat down, satisfied.

Victoria mewed as a large raindrop hit her on the forehead, soaking her headfur.

Electra whipped around excitedly. "I see somecat!" she whispered.

"Otay," Pouncival said in a hushed voice. "Vic, you an' yer brovah stay here wif E'cetra. 'Mima, you an' 'Lectra come wif me an' we'll go see who izzit."

Mistofelees rolled over on his side lazily. Pouncival, Jemima and Electra snuck around behind a rubbish bin and crouched, hidden. A distant rumble of thunder sounded and Etcetera squeaked with fright. Victoria tried to comfort her.

A small beige kitten with sooty paws crept around the corner. Aidan's pale blue eyes widened when he saw the three unsuspecting Jellicle kittens. He tried to stay calm and stealthy, but his excitement overcame any trace of gracefulness he had.

Behind the rubbish bin Electra couldn't contain herself. She sprang out from behind and flew through the air, landing with her paws on Aidan's cream-coloured stomach.

"Hullo, Aidan!" She giggled wildly.

"Rats," said Aidan, and he began to struggle.

"Whatsa matter, dontcha like being catched?" Electra grinned and began tickling his fluffy belly.

Aidan squirmed and tried not to laugh. "Okay, okay, you gots me! I s'rrender!"

Electra hopped up off of him and began bouncing up and down. Pouncival and Jemima came out from hiding.

"Well, we're not by da boxden, so we can't call ev'yone else on top of da pipe." Pouncival frowned.

"We can just go look fer ev'yone," Jemima sugguested.

"Dey're prolly all wif Kirandar," Aidan said sagely.

A streak of lightening lit half the sky a pale violet.

"Ooh, a storm!" Electra stared up at the sky and danced about excitedly.

Thunder sounded quietly and Mistofelees looked down at his paws, then up at the sky strangely.

"Ah no wanna stayinna rain, is frykening!" Etcetera mewed pitifully.

"What'd she say?" Pouncival tilted his head to one side.

"She said she wants ta go home 'cos da storm is frightening," Victoria explained.

"Oh." Pouncival thought for a moment. "Well, mebbe we should go by da Junkyard an' yew can take her home, Vic. An' we can look fer da uvvers on da way."

"Yeah, lessgo." Aidan trotted over by Mistofelees, who was examining his claws.

The small party plodded off toward the Jellicles' home, each checking the increasingly damper alleyways for Caedmon, Kirandar, JaCoven, or Novianna.

They came to a halt some distance from the Junkyard's front gates.

"Mah paws iz hurted an' dey all bwown an' wet." Etcetera shook off her fur.

"I'm gonna take Cettie home," Victoria took the tiny kitten's paw.

"A'right," Pouncival nodded. "We's gonna keep lookin'."

Small forks of purple lightening flashed across the sky.

"Aidan!" Mistofelees shouted excitedly. "Lookit!"

Aidan, who was sitting closest to Mistofelees, scooted closer to him curiously.

Thunder gurgled distantly and the rain began to fall more threateningly. Mistofelees held up his paws in front of his eyes and golden sparks fizzed between his claws.

"Ooh, wotcha doin', Misto?" Electra slid over to watch intently.

Mistofelees laid a paw on a leaf stuck to the muddy ground. Bluey shoots of light sparked from his paw and left small curls of smoke drifting up from the damp leaf. The three kittens' faces glowed with surprise.

The blue lightening sparkled in Jemima's wide eyes. A flurry of fur from the opposite corner of her vision caught her attention. "JaCoven!" Jemima hopped over and touched noses with her in a kittenish way. JaCoven giggled.

"I guess yew caught Aidan."

A bright flash of lightening split the sky, followed by angry thunder.

"Mebbe da storm scared him an' he just wanted somecat ta play wif," Jemima grinned.

"I hearded dat! Was _not!_" Aidan called out to Jemima, frowning defensively.

"I betcha he was," JaCoven whispered. Both queenkits giggles.

"Shh!" Electra's ears pricked up. "I hear somecat."

They paused to listen, and heard quickly padding steps, accompanied by the splash of rainwated and puddles.

"Mebbe it's Kirandar," Aidan sniffed the air. "Or Caedmon."

A running form began to take shape, but the kittens couldn't make out whom it belonged to through the mist and rain. Suddenly a piercing flash of lightening flared from above illuminating the tabby queen rushing toward them. She landed amidst the kittens, splashing rainwater and mud on Aidan, Jemima, and JaCoven. JaCoven spat mud and Jemima shook water from her fur.

"Jenny?" Electra took a step toward the queen.

Jennyanydots stood up. "That Heaviside, here you all are! Have you all got fluff for brains? This storm is getting worse by the minute, come inside for Everlasting's sake!"

"Mum," Pouncival started.

"You too, young tom, it's time to come home."

Jemima's head was bent low and her shoulders slumped. She looked guiltily at JaCoven and took a tentative step towards Jenny.

"What've you all been doing?" Jenny continued. "Any of you kits could have been struck by lightening, or gotten lost, or..." she trailed off as she caught sight of Aidan and JaCoven, looking damper every second by the Jellicle kittens. She looked hard at JaCoven, eyes sweeping over her long, ginger fur and her copper eyes. Jenny reached out a paw and pulled Pouncival and Electra close to her. She was silent for a moment, and then spoke slowly and sternly.

"Come along, kits. It's time to go home to the Junkyard. Come away."

Pouncival, Electra, Jemima, and Mistofelees slunk off dejectedly toward the Junkyard, glancing back regretfully at Aidan and JaCoven before turning away. Jennyanydots fixed them both with a hard stare, glaring at JaCoven last, and turned away without another word. She guided the Jellicle kittens home through the rain.

JaCoven stared after her with wide, fearful eyes, looking as if someone had struck her and she was afraid of being hit again. Aidan bared his teeth and a snarl rose in his tiny chest.

"C'mon," he told her. "Let's go find Kir an' Novi an' Caedmon."

JaCoven didn't move for a moment. "Did you see how cross she was wif us? An' da way she looked at me... why does she hate me so much?" JaCoven stood up. "No. I wanna find out why she looks at us like dat. Lessgo, Aidan."

Aidan silently stood up and followed her. The pair of them came to the Junnkyard gates, following the direction Jenny and the others had taked. Seeing wet tails dissappear into a den on the far side of the Yard, the two kittens followed silently. They stopped just outside and stayed hidden from view, overhearing Jenny and the kittens.

"-Don't know what you kits think you're doing, playing out in a storm. You should've come home straight away."

"Mum, we-" Pouncival was silenced by a furious glare from his mother. The den fell under a heavy silence, broken by Jenny.

"Where did you meet then," she asked slowly, "the other kits?"

"We've jus' been playin' wif 'em..."

"You've played with them _before_?" Jenny struggled to keep her voice level.

"Well, yeah, dey're our friends. See, we were lookin' for Kiran an' Caedmon wif Aidan an'-"

"There are _more_ of them?"

"Yeah..."

"Pouncival." Jenny paused and took a deep breath. Her voice continued to tremble, regardless. "These kits, the ones you've been playing with, do you know where they come from?"

"Well, dey live at da Wearhowse dey said-"

"And you didn't know? Pouncival, love. The live in _Macavity's_ lair."

A shocked and chilly silence hung over the Junkyard.

"They're kittens of _Henchcats_," Jenny continued. "I-... I don't want any of you kits hurt, and you're not to play with them anymore, understood?"

Pouncival nodded, frightened to the tail.

"I think none of you kits should leave the Junkyard." Jenny pulled him into a firm hug. "It's dangerous, dear, and I don't want you to get hurt."

JaCoven couldn't stand to hear any more. She nudged Aidan, and the two of them ran silently out of the Junkyard and back to the Warehouse. Angry, hot tears stung JaCoven's eyes and fell across her cheeks onto the ground to scatter among the falling raindrops.


	3. Everyday Games

"Elie, Elie, wake up!"

Electra pressed a paw to Etcetera's nose to quiet her before opening her eyes. She had been enjoying her nap, lying on her back and warming her fluffy stomach in the sun. Etcetera's paws were now pressed down on it, still shaking Electra to get her up.

"What's wrong Etcy, is the Junkyard on fire?" Electra rolled over onto her side and blinked in the sunlight, looking into Etcetera's wide eyes just inches away.

"Worse! Bomba's trying to catch The Tugger again!"

Electra stifled a laugh. "When is she not?"

"I know!" Etcetera cried. "C'mon, let's _go_!" She tugged on Electra's paw, gesturing urgently over toward the old car.

Electra rolled her chocolate-brown eyes and followed her friend, grinning.

Etcetera dragged the rusty-striped queen over by TSE1. They sat opposite the car, watching Bombalurina sprawled atop the hood of the car while The Rum Tum Tugger leaned casually next to her.

"The sunlight sure is warm and _soft_ today," Bombalurina purred. Her tail curled around his paw.

The Tugger watched her tail winding out of the corner of his eye, pretending not to notice. He looked up into the hazy blue sky filled with golden sunshine. "Yes, it's quite nice today, actually," he remarked offhandedly, smirking to himself.

Bomba frowned in his direction.

Etcetera covered her mouth with her paw to muffle her giggles. "Tugger's playing Hard-to-Get with Bomba again." Electra shook her head at Etcetera, but couldn't hide a smile.

Tugger smiled slyly at the two queens. Glancing back at Bomba again, he tilted his head and gave Etcetera a wink.

Cettie melted onto the floor as if her legs had suddenly turned to jelly. Electra rolled her eyes.

Tugger took a step forward and swept his gaze back along Bombalurina's scarlet coat. She straightened and perked up hopefully. The Tugger smirked to himself again and turned to walk over toward the two younger queens.

"Good morning, ladies," he said charmingly. He bent down and kissed Electra on the nose. She blushed, fiercely trying to hide the feeling like hot ice melting in her stomach. Etcetera's jaw dropped. He smiled coyly and glanced back at Bombalurina with satisfaction from the corner of his eye. Electra shook with stifled giggles and a smile crept across her mouth. Cettie too came out of her stupor and began giggling wildly. The Tugger stepped aside and Electra could see Bomba's shocked expression, ears laid flat. Upon noticing Electra gazing at her she grimaced and forced a smile. Electra giggled as Tugger swaggered away, staring after his tail as he left. Bombalurina slunk off in slight defeat to visit Demeter.

"Oh, that was brilliant!" Etcetera laughed. "You should've seen your face when he kissed you!"

Electra pursed her lips, still trying to get rid of her stubborn smile. "He didn't _really_ kiss me… a real kiss in on the lips."

"I wish he'd kiss _me_," Cettie continued, appearing to have not heard her friend.

"I've noticed." Elie grinned.

Etcetera's attention was diverted to the centre of the Junkyard. "Look, there's Jemima. C'mon, let's go!"

Electra smiled and followed her. That queen could not stay in one place for more than a minute.

As they approached Electra saw Pouncival wrestling his brother not far from Jemima. When she and Cettie sat down by Jemima, Tumblebrutus looked up at them. Seizing his opportunity, Pouncival rushed at his brother and caught him by the waist, winding him and sending them both sprawling.

Jemima laughed and shook her head. "Toms." She pretended not to notice that they were most likely fighting over her.

"Hello, Jemima!" Etcetera mewed.

"Hi, Cettie, 'lo, Elie." Jemima smiled.

"'Lectra's just been kissed by Tugger," Etcetera giggled, coming right out with it.

"On the nose…" Electra added significantly.

"Ooh, I think he fancied you, Ele," Jemima giggled.

"Tugger fancies every queen that breathes," Electra mumbled.

Tumblebrutus looked up from holding his brother in a headlock. "And more," he added.

Jemima smiled. Etcetera gave her a knowing look.

"Yeah," Pouncival grunted. "It's not just the queens."

Etcetera wrinkled her nose at Pouncival and gave him a strange look.

"See, that's what I mean," Electra told Jemima. "Toms should be loyal… to only one queen."

Jemima smiled politely and nodded hesitantly.

Etcetera turned her bewildered face to Electra. Jemima couldn't help but smile at it.

"I don't think Cettie could like The Tugger if he were different that he is now," Jemima explained.

Etcy nodded. "Yeah, I like him the way he is."

"But he's not _yours_," Electra reminded her.

Etcetera cocked her head to one side. "You're not making any sense, 'Lectra. Maybe you should go see Jellylorum. She'll give you some Chamomile tea and-"

"I'm fine," Electra said through gritted teeth. She blew out a sigh. Looking at the two brothers she noticed they hadn't moved since she'd began talking. Tumblebrutus looked down and Pouncival resumed the wrestling.

"So," began Electra, trying to change the subject, "speaking of Jelly, why did Admetus have to go and see her the other day?"

"Oh, he's had a bit of a nasty cough," Jemima explained. "It's gotten better, though. Jelly's set him right.

"Must be the Chamomile tea," Etcetera said with a twitch of a smile.

Electra couldn't help but smile as well. Noticing a third figure among Pouncival and Tumblebrutus, she turned to watch the two brothers. Plato was casually sitting on Pouncival's back, pinning him to the ground while Tumble tried to stop his brother's struggling.

"Oof! Aw, gerrof," Pounce grumbled.

"Do toms ever grow up?" Jemima smiled.

"Huh?" Etcetera asked distantly, watching Plato.

Electra pulled a face at her Jemima giggled.

"Oi, Ele," Plato gave Pouncival one last shove and, standing up, padded over to his sister. "Have you seen Victoria?"

"No, she's probably trying to stay away from you."

"Ah, stuff it," Plato nudged her playfully. "Oh, right," he turned to her as if just remembering something. "Ele, did you ever clean out your side of the den?"

"Yes," Electra sighed.

"Good," Plato nodded. "And… I noticed you were playing with Admetus a few days back, and he's caught a cough now."

"I was only talking to him…"

"Uh-huh. Well, you feeling all right?"

"I'm _fine_." She rolled her eyes slightly.

"Right, well if you feel off just go see Jelly."

"You sound like her yourself." Electra shoved him lightly.

"I'm only looking out for you… and if you cough yourself into a right state, don't say I didn't tell ya!"

Electra rolled her eyes and gave him a look that clearly said "are you quite finished?"

Plato ruffled her ears and sauntered back to Tumblebrutus, reinstating the brawling.

Electra turned to Jemima and Etcetera exhasperatedly. "My brother still treats me like a kit. She looked down, slightly embarassed.

Etcetera sighed. "Don't you ever want to just run out there and _do_ something? Do you ever get so bored of just _waiting_ for something really exciting to happen?"

"Sometimes," Electra said halfheartedly.

"Like an adventure, you mean?" Jemima stood up.

Etcetera laughed. "Well, I dunno, not quite like that I suppose, but sometimes I just wish something would _happen_ to me for a change."

Electra smiled. "Er, you know when I told Plato I cleaned my half of the den?" she whispered. "Well… I made that up." She smiled guiltily. "I'd better go do it before he finds out."

Etcetera gasped dramatically. "Naughty Elie, telling fibs!" She frowned and shook her head in an excellent imitation of Jennyanydots.

Jemima laughed. "Alright, see you, Ele."

Electra smiled at them before padding off to her den. Behind them she saw Munkustrap step over and separate Pounival, Plato, and Tumblebrutus, who each stood panting. Munkustrap gave them all stern looks. Electra smiled to herself.

Continuing she watched Jennyanydots talking to Jellylorum. She heard snatches of discussion about Admetus and his cough, and why Asparagus was so grumpy that morning. Not far from them Demeter was conversing with Rumpelteazer. Teazer seemed distracted, and suddenly she broke off to follow The Rum Tum Tugger about. Before heading inside her den she saw Skimbleshanks arguing with Mungojerrie about something he held guiltily behind his back. Electra laughed softly, she was so fond of her home and her friends. Remembering Etcetera's words she sat down. _No, Etcy_, she thought, _I don't wish things would change._


	4. Surprise Encounter

"…And then Alonzo told Pounce that if he woke him up by surprise one more time before sunrise, he's pluck off Pounce's tail and use it to tie his mouth shut!"

Electra listened to Etcetera's story interestedly. Jemima laughed as they walked along.

"Can't you just imagine Pounce all tied up by his own tail?"

"Someone talking about me?" Pouncival came up from behind.

"Hmm?" Etcetera asked innocently. The queens tried hard to keep straight faces. Pouncival padded along beside them.

Suddenly Electra gasped and dashed on ahead. Etcetera looked about for the cause of alarm, and, not seeing any toms, sat down confused.

"What is it?" called Jemima.

"Mouse!" Electra chased after a scurrying brown figure.

"Ooh," Etcetera squeaked, catching up with Electra. She wasn't entirely fond of mice herself, but the chase always made a good game of it.

Electra stopped and peered through a crevice in a pile of rubbish. The mouse was cornered, but the striped tortoiseshell couldn't get to it. Electra crouched low, tail twitching jerkily. Etcetera, Jemima and Pouncival sneaked up from the rear. Electra reached a paw through the junk and grabbed at the mouse, hoping to snag a claw on its fur. There was a flurry of muddy-brown fur and the mouse dashed out from behind the junk and scurried through the large pipe. Electra freed her paw and sped on through after it.

Pouncival, Jemima and Etcetera skidded to a halt, panting before the mouth of the tall pipe. They hesitated, each contemplating the muck lining on the bottom that would stick to their paws or what even lay through the other side in the damp alleyways near the sewers outside the Junkyard. Pouncival put forth a tentative paw.

Electra bounded on after the mouse, savouring the thrill from her sudden burst of energy. Her paws pattered in the shallow mud puddles of the alleys that coated the uneven pavement. She trailed her prey farther into the open, leaving the narrow streets and nearing a meadow with tall grass. A small part of her thoughts reminded her that this was near the forest, but she seldom explored this far from the Junkyard. The thought aroused her curiosity and she continued, fearless and excited. Wanting to divert the mouse from the tall grass where it would be lost to her, she turned sharply and rounded on it. The mouse seemed confused and skidded to a halt before choosing what direction to take. Electra grinned, knowing she was gaining on it. The mouse seemed even more hesitant to run away from her, but kept scurrying frantically. Electra briefly wondered what could have made this creature so stupid, but prepared to spring. In mid-run she tensed her back legs and bunched her muscles, crouching low. Her legs pushed her into the air and she pounced, catching the furry mouse between her front paws. An instant of satisfaction trickled through her, but glancing down a thrill of shock slammed against her. A pair of brown paws was pressed on top of her own. Electra looked up into two hazel-green eyes inches from her, and looked every bit as startled as she felt. Electra jumped and quickly shuffled back, looking about in her confusion, wondering where this cat had come from. The new cat had backed off in alarm as well, and the mouse scampered away. The cat frowned at it.

Electra surveyed the new cat warily. He was a tom with brown tabby stripes, faded just darker than the mouse that had escaped them both. He was taller than she, and quite lean. Electra imagined he ought to have eaten the mouse should either of them have caught it. As he frowned Electra wondered where had had come from, and where he lived. Suddenly she noticed that the tom was studying her with the same sort of mild curiosity, and she stared down at the ground, quite embarrassed.

"Were you going to get that?" He jerked his head in the direction the mouse ran off.

Electra frowned at him, puzzled. He stood up as if to pursue the mouse again, and glanced back at her. Electra blinked and bit her lip. The tom started away, hesitated, and sat back down looking slightly bewildered.

He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. Finally he ventured the question that seemed to be eating away at him. "…Electra?"

Electra's eyes went wide and she looked about as if there ought to have been somecat to tell the tom this. She stared at him, confused.

"Look, wait right here, don't move, I'll be back in a mo'." The brown tabby shot off into the trees.

Electra sat, dazed and unmoving. Then she realized she was doing as the strange tom had told her and stood up indignantly. She remembered having left Etcetera, Jemima and Pouncival far behind. Perhaps they had followed her. She set out to rejoin them, but was forced to stop and catch her bearings. She knew if she could find her way back to the alleys she could be sure of the way home. She vaguely knew her way around the edge of the forest, but there seemed to be a hole in the map in her mind of the Junkyard and its surroundings, and she was unsure of how to get back to the streets. She traced the path she'd made in the grass that sagged from being tread on previously. Soon the grassy field disappeared into soft dirt and Electra followed the paw prints she'd beaten into the ground. But when the soft dirt gave way to hard, packed ground she sat down, stumped. Electra groaned, mentally kicking herself for getting lost. She waited hopefully for Jemima or Etcetera, or even Pouncival, but no cat came. Electra frowned, glancing back the way she'd come. Her curiosity got the better of her and she trudged back to sit down by the tall grass where she'd lost the mouse. No sooner had she arranged herself than she heard the thump of running paws and rustling brush. The brown tabby appeared again, breathing hard and looking alert. Electra blinked expectantly and the tom looked toward the brush where he'd come.

One by one, four cats stepped out from the same way the brown tabby had come. The first was a handsome, dark ginger and brown tom with v-shaped stripes on his forehead. Electra gasped.

"Kirandar?"

Kirandar looked up, surprised. He looked hard at Electra for a moment and recognition dawned in his face. Aidan, with bright blue eyes, still smaller than the rest, stepped out next and JaCoven followed, each looking astonished.

"Electra!" Novianna trotted forward, her face brightening excitedly. Electra smiled shyly as the calico queen rubbed up against Electra's side in a welcoming manner.

"Blimey, it's been a long time," Kirandar breathed. Electra nodded.

All the cats were looking about at each other awkwardly, remembering the games they used to play as kits. Novianna stared off as if she were daydreaming. Kirandar looked as if he were remembering something amusing. Aidan looked up at Electra with curiosity, and behind his blue eyes was a fire that burned with intensity. Electra's mouth played at a smile as she watched him thinking, looking like he was ready to explode with energy. JaCoven looked away, but from what Electra could see she appeared to be wrestling with her thoughts.

Electra realized that the brown tabby she'd run into was Caedmon. She peered at him from the corner of her eye, and quickly looked away when she found he was gazing at her strangely, as if there was something about her he didn't understand, but that intrigued him. Electra pushed about a lump of dirt with a paw to take her mind off of feeling uncomfortable and wished he'd look away. She was saved by the soft paw steps she heard distantly on the dirt. Jumping up she dashed over and, to her relief, found Etcetera, Jemima, and Pouncival finally caught up with her.

Etcetera panted excitedly. "Did you catch it?"

"Huh?" Electra remembered the mouse. "Oh. Er…"

"What took you so long?" Pouncival stepped forward, "we couldn't fond you for ages."

"Well, I met… I ran into… oh, just come here." Electra led them over to where the five cats stood.

Pouncival froze, shocked. The five other cats looked equally surprised. JaCoven glared coldly at him. Etcetera tiled her head to one side as if trying to understand. Uncertainty hung about them all like a chill mist on the air. Jemima took a tentative step forward.

"JaCoven?" Jemima stepped into the space between the two sides of cats, looking utterly vulnerable and exposed.

JaCoven turned her gaze upon the innocent queen. Some memory seemed to catch her off guard and softened the glint of her copper eyes. She looked at Jemima as if wishing for something very distant that she knew was lost forever, eager to be reunited with her friend.

Pouncival began breathing rapidly, fear echoing in his chest, but also carrying a defensive warning. JaCoven's eyes snapped to meet his. Her harsh glare cast a bitter hatred, but she seemed to stare through Pouncival as though her anger wasn't meant directly for him. The sleek sweep of her long ginger and white fur lay along her elegant figure like a sheet of ice and crystal. She was beautiful and cold and harsh and held fury behind her gaze with all stillness and terrible silence. Pouncival's breath ran ragged, but he tensed defensively and held his stance with as much ferocity.

Jemima remained still for an eternal moment, here eyes wide with questions that could not be said in words. Slowly she shrank back to sit by Etcetera. "Why?" was written on her face, but as though she somehow knew the answer, but didn't want to believe it.

Silence hung over the cats. Each seemed to know what the other was thinking, and there didn't seem to be a way to voice it. With each lost to their own thoughts, the tension began to die down. The breeze seemed gently to blow the previously ignited anger down to embers. Novianna broke the long silence gently.

"Cettie, is that you?"

Etcetera turned to Novianna in surprise, slightly confused.

"My, you've grown up! You were so tiny when we were all together last. You've grown into such a pretty young queen now." Novi smiled.

"She is quite the pretty little thing, isn't she?" Kirandar whispered to Novianna. He grinned and winked at Etcetera.

Etcy looked much more at ease with the situation, glancing at Kirandar periodically.

Electra felt bolder now that the tension had been skated over. "Do you still play games or have good romps like we all used to?" she asked with a laugh. She looked automatically to Aidan, who looked like the longer he sat still the more energy built up, ready to fizz over the moment he made a move.

Aidan smiled. "We all have a good romp now and again. Kiran and I like to go exploring best."

"And you like to get lost the best," Kirandar chuckled, giving his a playful shove.

"That's only because I'm too fast for you and sometimes when I get on ahead… I forget that you're the one who remembers the way home."

Pouncival tensed visibly at his last word, not taking his eyes off the ground. "We should be getting back," he said with quiet restraint. Jemima's ears fell, and she smiled politely to everyone before turning to leave. Etcetera seemed sorry to go, but followed Jemima like a lamb. Electra lingered for a moment, torn between the instinct to follow and the curiosity of so many unanswered questions. Pouncival's intense hostility seemed out of place, and made her feel sympathy for their old mates. Electra glanced back at them all before going, memories flickering in her mind's eye from their kittenhood days. Finally she turned and followed Etcetera home, thinking distantly.

The four Jellicles trotted back to the Junkyard through the front gates. Pouncival leaped up on top of the old car and sat down, shoulders hunched. Etcetera followed him, jumping up on the hood.

"How do they know my name?" she asked curiously.

Jemima sat down next to her. "We used to play games together as kits," she said quietly, "a long time ago. You were probably too young to remember properly." She smiled at her friend.

Etcetera thought hard. "I… I think I remember something."

Electra smiled, wondering if Cettie really remembered anything, or if she was just trying so hard she imagined it.

"Why did we stop playing together?" Etcetera look up.

"They're Henchcats." Pouncival said, emotionless. "They live in Macavity's tribe."

Etcetera frowned, deep in thought. "But… we used to get along. Why don't we play together anymore?"

Pouncival didn't look up. "Did you see JaCoven's eyes?"

Etcetera fell silent.

Electra sighed. "What changed so much?"

Jemima forced a smile. "I think we all have."


	5. Lives in Common?

Electra opened one eye carefully, checking to make sure the den was empty before opening the other and raising her head. The tortoiseshell queen had been awake for nearly an hour, but laid completely still, feigning sleep. Her brother had awoken and left ten minutes ago, but Electra hadn't moved until she was certain the coast was clear. She crept silently out of their den and skirted around the open centre of the Jellicle Junkyard, not wishing to be seen. Curiosity made her paws itch with anticipation. She simply _had_ to go back and see their old mates again, even if her Jellicle friends would not follow. As she approached the pipe she saw a blue glow emanating from behind the oven, and couldn't resist following it. Mistofelees sat behind the oven, amusing Peter and Kitanellie, two young kittens, with his magic.

"Now do this one, Misto!" Peter nudged a pebble at the tuxedo tom.

"Alright," Mistofelees smiled obligingly. Electra chuckled to herself; Misto loved the chance to show off to anyone, especially kits that were enamoured with his talent. Mistofelees waved a paw over the pebble and made a pulling motion as if drawing it toward himself. The stone rose slowly into the air and hovered, level with Peter's nose. The tomkit grinned excitedly and dabbed a paw at it. Kitanellie watched with timid fascination.

"Wait a moment, Pete. Here." Mistofelees lowered the pebble to the ground again. He stretched out both paws this time and waved them over the smooth, grey stone. Electra thought she saw it glow with electricity, but wasn't certain she'd been watching properly.

Peter, too, seemed to notice it. He reached out a curious paw and touched it to the pebble. A small "snap" was heard, and he drew his paw away sharply.

"Ouch!"

Mistofelees laughed as Peter put the paw to his mouth. The small tomkit shook his hurt paw and began laughing as well. Kitanellie's eyes were wide with fright and awe as she looked from the pebble to Mistofelees.

"Misto," Electra called, beckoning him with a paw. "Stop teasing kits, I was to show you something!"

Mistofelees trotted over to her, shooting prideful looks at the kittens. "Yeah, Elie?"

"C'mon, I want you to see someone," she grabbed him by the paw. "You'll never believe who we met yesterday!"

"Wait, Electra," Mistofelees halted and sat down. "Is this about JaCoven, and everyone?"

Electra was crestfallen. "How'd you know?"

"Etcetera and Pouncival told me." He glanced back at the kittens he had been entertaining.

"Oh," Electra's ears fell. "Well, come on, let's go see them. Come with me!" She tugged on his arm.

"Electra!" Misto frowned and yanked his paw free. "No, I won't go. And you shouldn't be going either."

"What's the matter with you?" Electra frowned, picking up his paw again. "We used to all play together all the time. What's so different now?"

"They're Henchcats, Ele," Misto's face was pulled back as if he tasted something bitter.

"Well, when did they start being Henches and stop being our friends?"

"They live with _Macavity_, Ele! Have you forgotten everything he's done? They've chosen to still serve him. They could have... left or something."

Electra couldn't believe what she was hearing. She glared at him, disgusted, but the memories of terrible things Macavity had done kept her silent. She threw down his paw from her hold and rushed away from him, running through the pipe where his voice echoed in a futile cry.

As she was running to the meadow she tried to brush away Misto's warning, but some small part of her couldn't forget what he'd said. She plunged on through the tall grass that tickled the tips of her ears to the spot where she'd collided with Caedmon. She sat down in the exact place she'd stopped yesterday, and imagined Caedmon and all their friends coming out of the brush. She spotted the small clearing they'd entered from and lunged though.

The dirt was loose on the ground, but prints were hard to keep track of in the dim light under the brush. Electra could finally make out scattered prints of the five cats headed the direction she'd come, undisturbed from the day before. She ran alongside the trail as fast as she could follow the faint tracks, getting ahead of herself by and by, and having to backtrack a few paces. Finally the faint impressions became unreadable, scattered among many other paw prints, some much larger than others. Electra sniffed the ground, but couldn't discern one cat's unfamiliar scent from another. Thinking desperately, she looked down and tried to guess which prints belonged to which cat she knew, hoping that if she could recognize any she could follow them to the owner and meet up with them all again. Electra moved forward hopefully, trying to follow a smattering of smaller paws that she guess could belong to Aidan. Before her third step, Electra gasped and pulled back sharply. A particularly large paw had laid its indentation deeply in from of her. The pads had been thin and sharp, and protruding were five long, sinister-looking claw-marks scratched into the ground. She envisioned the thin, jagged paw matted with dark ginger fur that had stamped it.

Electra sat down hard on her tail, biting her lip against the sting. _What am I doing here?_ She drew a ragged breath, berating herself. Her mind flickered back to that last Jellicle Ball where Macavity had wormed his way into the Junkyard and captured their beloved leader. The Mystery Cat had hypnotized them all with his yellow eyes while he catnapped Deuteronomy. Electra remembered seeing frightful visions and blood and terrible things in his gaze, though she'd never spoken about them to anycat. Electra growled in frustration and shook her head, sending her ears flopping. Hot tears burned her cheeks as they were squeezed from her narrowed eyes. Her throat stung and she tried to draw a steadying breath as it tightened. An unbidden hiccup escaped her mouth and she frowned. Looking about at the faded paw prints she was seated in the midst of, Ele sniffed and did her best to pull herself back to awareness. A cool breeze stirred the underbrush and ruffled her fur, carrying a scent that played at her nose. The rust-coloured queen sniffed the air, trying to pull apart each smell and identify them. The first was cat; an adult queen, but not one Electra knew. The second teased her mind, and she struggled to name it, sorting deeply through her tangled thoughts. After a short tussle the scent clicked into place. It was Novianna! The calico queen had rubbed against her in greeting, letting her scent linger long enough for Electra to recall it.

Electra scrubbed the tears out of her eyes, scolding herself for becoming so frustrated. She stood up, shaking dust from her tail, and quickly followed Novianna's scent, pink and grey nose held high. There were no cleared trails to follow in that direction, and the wall of brush and young, thin trees slowed her down considerably. Soon Electra was close enough to hear the two queens' voices. Upon catching Novianna's voice she was filled with relief, and wanted nothing more than to rush to her friend's side, but the unfamiliar voice reminded her to be just a little cautious. She padded very slowly forward, treading as lightly as possible on the springy moss. Through the trees Electra could distantly see Novianna's patterned calico fur and the glossy, dark brown and golden fur of another. As she inched carefully forward she was suddenly aware that both voices had stopped. Trying to keep her head low while peering for a glance at the queens, she flattened her ears in shy curiosity.

"You're going to have to sneak about quieter, Electra."

Electra spun around to see Novianna chuckling quietly.

"Oh, I wasn't sneaking. I was just trying to find you, and then I saw someone else with you and… I wasn't sure…" she trailed off while the word "_frightened"_ echoed accusingly in her head.

Novianna smiled. The queen she had been speaking to earlier stepped out of the trees.

"Novi, who was it?"

"Oh, sorry, Ele." Novianna sat down by the brown cat. "This is my mum, Vashti. Mum, this is Electra."

"Hello," Vashti smiled politely. "I take it you know my daughter?"

"Yes," Electra nodded respectfully. "We're... old friends." She smiled.

"Right," Novianna pointed to the mossy forest floor. "Just a suggestion, but next time you want to romp about softly, you might want to go easy on this stuff. Sounded a bit like you were squishing through a marsh."

Electra looked down at the pads of her own paws. They were coarse and rough from running through streets and on pavement all her life She imagined how scratchy they must sound against the dry, springy moss.

"Never mind," Novianna placed a paw over Electras', gently lowering them. "It's super you're here, where are the others?" There was a doubtful look in her eye.

Electra's cheeks burned with shame for her friends. "They… wouldn't come. I came by myself." Electra braced herself for Novi to ask why, floundering to come up with an answer that sounded less offensive than the truth.

"Oh, alright." The calico queen didn't press the matter, and Electra felt relieved, though she wondered if Novianna wasn't slightly more hurt that she was letting on.

"Well, I'm certainly glad you came today, Electra," she continued.

"Novi told me all about you and your friends," Vashti smiled hesitantly, and Electra caught the flit of concern in her voice. Suddenly Electra began to doubt herself. JaCoven had given them all such a cold greeting. What if none of the others wanted to see her any more than Mistofelees or Pouncival wished to see them? How could such good friends become so hostile without even seeing one another in years? It was completely unfair! Electra was determined to see them again, and if they resisted her it was certainly they who were in the wrong.

"Can we go see JaCoven and Kirandar and the others?" Electra spoke with such a sudden determination that Novianna blinked in surprise.

"Oh, alright. Was there anything you wanted to ask them?" Novi stood up.

"Er…" Electra frowned slightly, feeling they weren't quite understanding each other. "It'd just be sort of… reassuring… to see them all again. None of my friends… really want to believe that it happened yesterday, and this morning I began to wonder myself if it were just a dream."

Novianna smiled understandingly. "No, love, it happened. Come along, we'll go find them all."

The two queens turned to leave and Novianna bid her mother goodbye. Vashti seemed easier after seeing the calm confidence on her daughter's face. Both friends walked on, laughing and remembering some of the games they had all played as kittens together. Suddenly Novianna halted, glancing at a bush nearby, then throwing an exasperated look at Electra and rolling her eyes.

"Aidan, we know you're in there. You can come out."

A ball of cream, tan, and grey fur shot out of the bush and danced a circle around them both. Aidan came to a screeching halt in front of the queens.

"Rats," he said quietly.

Electra's eyes were wide, impressed by Novianna's perception. "How did you know he was there?" she whispered.

Aidan's gaze turned to Electra as though just noticing her.

"Well, I'm fairly used to this sort of thing from him, but his heart beats about twenty times a second, I'm surprised you didn't hear it." Novianna smiled, but looked slightly flattered by the Jellicle queen's wonder.

"Hi, Electra!" Aidan growled playfully and crouched down on his front paws.

"Hello, Aidan," Electra smiled as he began to how about her, pretending he was about to pounce. Aidan flicked out a paw to bat at her ear or nose occasionally, but there was an awkward hesitancy in his usually fluid, zipping motion. It was as though her presence was so foreign that some deep, inexplicable instinct was holding Aidan back. Electra's amused smile began to fade.

Novianna watched quietly. "Aidan, have you seen Kirandar or Caedmon about?" she asked abruptly.

"They might still be at the Old Climbing Oak, Kiran's off duty today."

"Alright, let's look there," Novianna said quickly, trotting off ahead. Electra and Aidan followed her deep into the trees. Electra observed their surroundings. The forest was really quite peaceful, growing quieter and more dim as they went further in. As they walked along Aidan stubbed his paw on a tree root, somersaulting over and springing to his paws in one move.

"Ouch!" he cried, kicking the protruding root in frustration. "Ow!" he exclaimed again, bruising his other paw. "Novi, do we have to take this way? It's so much easier to go around."

"Shh!" The calico queen's head whipped back around, eyes glaring a warning. I'm not going this route for the fun of it."

Aidan thought for a moment and got to his paws. "Oh." He glanced back at Electra and walked on.

The rusty tabby began to feel alien and separate; as if she were some forbidden mischief they had gotten into and agreed not to speak of once the deed was done. Electra moved on in silence as the three of them rounded their large turn near the edge of the woods where Electra could see two silhouetted cats. One sat back on his paws in the cool grass while the other tom, whom Electra could now make out as Kirandar, lounged with his back against a massive oak tree. Novianna sat beside them as Electra and Aidan trotted forward to catch up. As they joined Novianna in sitting under the tree, Electra recognized the other tom as Caedmon. The tom's white front and paws softly caught the golden sunlight that filtered through the leaves.

"Electra!" Kirandar exclaimed. "Look Caedmon, 'tis our lovely queen come back since yesterday." He threw her a charming smile. Electra thought she saw Novianna roll her eyes in the corner of her vision.

Caedmon's mouth twitched at the corners, and then subsided. "Did no one come with you?"

Electra watched Kirandar throw an apprehensive glance upward. She followed his gaze up into the tree to see JaCoven, who had clearly been lounging in the branches above their heads a moment ago, tensed and listening curiously.

Electra was slightly alarmed by their rapt attention to her, and she chose her words carefully in order not to falter under the sudden pressure. "They were disinclined to return." Once the words had left her mouth Electra realized that they echoed with more bitterness than she had intended.

"Did they give a reason?" Aidan asked, half disdainfully. Electra thought guiltily to what Misto had said that morning.

"No need," JaCoven looked away. Electra felt that if the ginger queen had spoken those two words while looking her directly in the eyes, their coldness might have pierced her and shattered her into a thousand jagged shards on the mossy forest floor. Electra shivered.

Caedmon turned his intense gaze on her with wonder and curiosity, and something else in his eyes that plucked at something inside Electra and made her look away forcefully. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment that anycat could frighten and confuse her emotions so much just by _looking_ at her.

Novianna, noticing the flustered rusty queen, stepped forward and nudged Electra encouragingly on the shoulder. "Well, Ele's back, and she wanted to see us all. She doesn't care about that sort of thing."

Aidan came slowly to her side, as if his paws were resisting him, but sat down beside her. Electra began to take heart, but when she gave him a grateful smile he looked away and said nothing.

Looking up she saw Kirandar studying her with surprising attentiveness. All handsome swaggering was gone from his face, and his handsome eyes seemed to question such innocence. Electra found that she could meet his gaze challengingly, standing her ground. Kiran's mouth turned up at the corner and the handsome confidence returned to his features.

"She's a good little queen, mates," he laughed. Electra wondered if he was making fun of her, but his tone carried a hint of admiration. He gave her a wink quite different from his usual charms; genuine, as if admitting she'd won.

Electra felt quite perplexed by so many strange reactions from them all, feeling if this carried on any further she might either burst out yelling, or turn tail and run away from it all. Stubbornly holding her ground, she made up her mind not to be deterred and sat defiantly still. Kiran chuckled softly and she saw him mouth the word "feisty" to Caedmon. Electra bit her lip and dug her claws in the ground to hold back any reaction.

Novianna came to her rescue once again. "So Electra's going to hang about with us today, yeah?" She looked from cat to cat as if daring them to argue.

"How is it so far, Electra?" Caedmon asked. "How do you like the forest and the edge of town compared with your city streets?"

Electra couldn't hide a half-smile. What an awkward question. "It _is_ quite different. No damp concrete underpaw. There aren't a great many trees at home."

Caedmon looked about appreciatively at the forest. "It is quite nice to have so many trees spread about like a great canopy above the moss. It's so much more hidden and secluded than the noisy city."

Once he had spoken of it, Electra realized the peaceful stillness of the forest came from the absence of busyness, compared to the constant rumbling noises inside of London. Birds sang their swooping melodies in the trees, and the breeze through the leaves created the soft blanket of perpetual sound here, so separate from motors and humans in the humming city. She looked to Novianna, realizing for the first time how at peace these cats were with the forest. They were part of it. Novianna gave a small smile that reminded Electra of Vashti.

"I met Novianna's mum today," Electra said, trying to continue the conversation.

"Vashti's loyal enough." Electra looked up in the oak tree's knotted branches to see JaCoven relaxing back again on her perch.

"You're mum's alright though, yeah?" Aidan smirked.

Jacoven's eyes flashed, not threateningly, but enough to silence him.

"JaCoven's mother died a few weeks after giving birth," Caedmon explained.

"She died fighting for our tribe after a long life of service." JaCoven's cold voice carries direct pride with it. Electra wondered why it was there rather than any hint of sorrow.

"And JaCoven's grown up with my mum Jezebel and I ever since, right, little sister?" Kirandar smiled in mock superiority.

The ginger queen rolled here eyes skyward. Kirandar was clearly the only cat able to tease her and get away with it.

Electra thought of the mother who had died in her own infancy and the father she'd never known. Plato had always taken care of her until they became a part of the Jellicle family. "Why didn't you stay with your father?" Electra asked, wondering if the cold queen's situation was similar.

Even the forest seemed to silence its sounds as all voices ceased. JaCoven's back arched gracefully and with pride.

"Macavity is my father."

Her words drew all the respect and awe they'd commanded from Electra. Her lips parted in surprise and a blended astonishment and fear and reverence commandeered her thoughts.

Kirandar broke the ringing silence, eager to share in the glory. "So in truth she is my half-sister. Macavity is also my father."

The Jellicle queen's mind raced. She'd known they were Henchcats, but somehow she couldn't believe that any of them were fathered by the evil, twisted Mystery Cat. She struggled to comprehend, speaking the first feeble thought she could voice. "He never raised you?"

"We are privileged to be the children of the leader of such a strong tribe." JaCoven's voice was clear and hard as crystal, directly at the Jellicle's side. The sleek queen sat in all stillness beside her, though Electra had neither heard nor seen her descend the twisted tree branches. "The Hidden paw has not the time nor the reason to raise any of his offspring. Tending kits is a queen's job, from birth to suckling to every aspect, naturally. Why would it be necessary for him to interfere?"

Electra had become confused by JaCoven's convincing logic. She studied the beautiful queen's long, sweeping ginger fur, recognizing now the strong resemblance to her father. Kirandar's tall, thin figure drew her attention, his dark ginger fur fashioned him, admittedly, nearly as handsome as Macavity. Both cats seemed to possess some of the same commanding air of mystery about them, and Electra wondered if it wasn't possible for them to have inherited any of his mystical powers.

Her thinking still feeling clouded, or quite possibly that her mouth was working on its own, Electra asked, "You make it sound as if he has many other sons and daughters, are they all from different mothers?"

JaCoven immediately perceived the badly concealed trace of horror, and something like disgust in Electra's voice at the prospect. "Many of them, yes. Is that so very strange? I hear your tribe leader has had something like ninety-nine wives."

Electra's teeth clicked as her mouth snapped closed and her cheeks burned with shame once again. The more she thought about it the less strange and brutal the Hench tribe seemed. Were they really so different after all?

Looking about Electra considered each one of them. Every one was unique, but not one bore horrific features or even seemed barbaric, quite unlike what had been implied by the Jellicles' fear and stories of the Hench tribe. They were just _cats_.

Electra found that her questions of the Jellicle viewpoint ran deeper now. The pounding "why?" reverberated inside her head, leaving her drawing up emptiness for answers. Looking about at them again and remembering their old friendships, she pushed her doubts aside to focus on the present. She could have living, breathing friends, instead of faded memories. The new realization must have shown clearly on her face, because Novianna smiled warmly at her and purred softly. JaCoven and the toms still studied her curiously. Finally Kiran sat back against the tree in satisfaction, approval for the rusty queen shone in his gaze.

Electra raised her head, finally looking them all in the eyes with a sense of mutual equality, so different from the meekness she'd felt before in perceiving herself so much lower than them all. A feeling of understanding with them began to develop itself in her mind between Electra and these Hench cats, pulling her up and away from the airs of timidity.

Looking from cat to cat her gaze locked with Caedmon's, who wore an intrigued smile. His hazel eyes were bright with the same focused wonder they'd held before, staring softly into her as if she were some wonderful mystery he desired to see further into. Electra looked away at once, startled but keeping her eyes level, steadying her composure. She felt as if a chunk of ice had slipped down from her throat and plunged to the pit of her stomach, leaving instead of its frigid trail, a boiling and burning in her chest all in one instant. Half of her was frightened and ashamed by the shocked sensation, but it was quickly overcome by a curiosity and the shadow of a wish to feel it again. Soon the emotion died down and she began to think clearly, internally kicking herself at such a nonsensical impulse. Feeling slightly ashamed once again, she did her best to suppress those emotions, no matter how much they tried to resurface.

Novianna, ever perceptive, must have sensed her distress, deciding it was time to move on again. "So, Electra, since we all have the day off, what would you like to do?"

Electra smiled gratefully. "Well, I don't suppose you all play the same games we did as kits," she thought for a moment. "What do you all do on your spare time together?"

"Caedmon and JaCoven and I were just having a chat here under the Climbing Oak before you arrived." Kirandar thought for a moment, as if they didn't often play together. "We do like to train together."

"What do you train for?" Electra was glad the subject was moving in a different direction.

Kiran looked slightly put out by the question. "To be… to be fit to fight or protect or guard or serve or scout or whatever needs doing. Just to be an adult in general. We all need practice and training, yeah?"

"Isn't that more like work, though? I mean, what do you do in you free time?" Electra tilted her head to one side.

"Well, we sometimes make a game of it," Caedmon interjected. "It's not all bad."

"Sometimes we race," Aidan sprang to his paws.

"And you always win." Kirandar rolled his eyes and pushed Aidan back down with a paw to his head. "Other times we see who can lift the heaviest fallen tree branch or…" Kiran paused for dramatic affect, "other cats." Electra resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, and _I_ always win," Caedmon grinned.

Kirandar opened his mouth to refute, and then closed it in injured pride. "Not _always_…"

They laughed and talked together until evening when the still air began to cool and the crickets murmured their first. The minutes slipped by surprisingly quickly as they chatted happily. As the shadows grew longer, JaCoven rose first and swept away, returning to her duties. Kirandar followed soon after, leaving Electra a fetching smile she paid no attention to. Finally after a prolonged but energetic stay, Aidan also hurried off to his responsibilities. Novianna lingered, seeming reluctant to leave her along.

"It _is_ getting late," Electra agreed with each cat who had departed.

"Would you like me to walk with you back home?" Novianna offered sweetly but resolutely.

Electra smiled. "Thanks, Novi, but I can find my way from the edge of the forest."

Novianna pressed the matter more firmly, all but insisting, and Electra declined again.

Caedmon took a step forward to stand beside Electra. "At least let me take you past Tottenham Court."

Electra was quiet for a moment. His words came softly, but with an eagerness that couldn't be hidden in his tone. She felt her earlier stubbornness vanish, and a strange desire to say yes. She looked to Novianna who sat quietly, her expression unreadable. Electra hesitated, weighing her pride against his offer.

"…Alright."

Caedmon's face relaxed into a hesitant sigh of relief.

"Goodnight, Novianna!" Electra purred, rubbing shoulders with her calico fiend.

"Goodnight, Novi," Caedmon smiled.

Electra watched Novianna's expression. The queen looked curiously to Caedmon, studying him through his eyes unfathomably far in an instant. Her features softened and the shadow of a smile passed over her lips.

"'Night." Novianna turned gracefully and disappeared, cutting through the trees like a swallow in flight.

Caedmon turned to escort her, appearing unfazed. As Electra turned to match his stride, however, he glanced back over his shoulder into the forest. When they were a good distance out of the trees he leaned close to her ear and whispered quietly.

"I wonder if she's watching us right now."

Electra opened her mouth to question why, but when she opened her mouth she found herself oddly breathless. The strange plunging sensation of burning ice returned, but warmer, and not unwelcome this time. Caedmon continued walking and it took Electra a moment to regain her footing and fall in sync with his pawsteps. She was pensively silent as hey walked together, turning that moment and the feeling over and over in her mind. The cool, gentle breeze of summer twilight blew across them both. Electra could see that the blue of the evening sky had begun to dim since she'd last caught the sight of it through the trees. An understanding seemed to lie between them that the gentle silence need not be broken by speaking or anything other than the light padding of their steps. The noises of meadows and fields began to fade away into the distant city hum. They walked together among the quiet streets, watching the sky's light dwindle to faintness and the streetlamps flicker on. He took her just past the ends of Tottenham Court Road, coming to a halt and sighing a small yawn.

"You know your way from here, I'll wager."

It wasn't quite a question, but Electra nodded, half-smiling.

Caedmon nodded, turning his full gaze on her. When their eyes met he lingered, staring far into her widened, soft brown ones. Electra stood rooted to the spot, held wholly still by his gaze. No cat had ever looked at her that way, and as her heart skittishly missed a beat she felt the beginnings of an unfamiliar warm glow in her chest.

"G'night, Ele." Caedmon broke the spell of the moment that stretched to last forever and only for an instant all at once. He turned slowly to go, a soft smile creeping along his mouth. He glanced back once more, then loped away and disappeared into the dusk.

Electra watched him leave, and then realized she was left standing in the same spot with a wistful smile on her face. She placed a paw to her lips in embarrassment, unconsciously scrubbing her mouth with the back of her hand. Just as soon as she had rubbed it off, however, another smile much like the last replaced it. Deep in thought, she hardly noticed the gathering darkness about her or the increasing nighttime noisiness as her paws automatically carried her home. When she found herself before the Junkyard's gates and watched her fellow Jellicles heading to their dens for the night she decided it was best to quietly avoid them all. Slinking around the outside walls she entered through the large pipe and trotted to her den. By some stroke of luck Plato was either spending the night in Victoria's den or had decided to stay out late, and Electra found herself alone in their den. She curled up on her soft, downy bed and tried to quiet her thoughts enough to sleep. It took a great deal of effort, her head spun as she lay still. She played the events of the evening over and over in her mind, recalling each expression and movement. The warmth in her chest glowed a bit brighter as she pictured Caedmon's smile. The hazel and green color of his eyes looking into hers was the last thing she imagined before she finally drifted off to sleep.


	6. Sunlight Through the Trees in Summer

The sunlight cast a fiery orange glow behind Electra's closed eyelids as she shifted her paw sleepily to shade them, breathing lightly and relaxing into her dreams again. A sudden thought hit her like a jolt of lightning and she started awake. She shook her head, ears flopping, trying to purge the sensation of just being plunged under cold water. It was two days after she had last stolen away to the forest, and today she would go again. Deciding she hadn't been discreet enough the last time, she planned to spread out her visits to make things less conspicuous. Having spent a good bit of the previous night in sleepless anticipation she desperately rubbed at her eyes and cheeks, blinking away the tired haze watering her vision. Stepping into the pool of warm sunlight at the mouth of her den she tensed at the daylight above her. _How could I have slept so late? _ she groaned inwardly. The entire Junkyard was awake and busy already. Suddenly she was hit with full force at her shoulders, and sent sprawling, soon pinned to the ground.

"_There_ you are, great sleepyhead!"

Electra exhaled in relief as Etcetera flopped down in front of her, though her heart still felt like it'd been run though and electric blender.

"Where have you _been, _Jem ad Vicky and I have been talking all morning-- well, it's almost afternoon now-- without you!"

"Sleeping," Electra mumbled, laying her head down and agreeing with her still heavy eyelids.

"Oh no you don't, come on!" Etcetera heaved and brought them both to a stand.

Electra groaned, wondering how under Heaviside she'd work her way out of this situation and back into the forest.

"If you'd have slept any longer somecat would've come along and mistaken you for dead and buried you, so there!"

"But Old Deuteronomy sleeps all the time!" Electra complained, teasing her friend.

"But he's _old_! He's supposed to do that."

"Jenny sleeps all day," Electra added under her breath.

"Hurry up!" Etcy yanked on her paw.

Electra was dragged across the Junkyard to a sitting position next to Victoria, who lounged on the ground. Feeling slightly sorry for not being her usual, more energetic self, Electra sat up and tried her best to look interested despite the alarm that nagged at her senses, pulling toward the meadows and forest outside.

"Hi, Ellie," Victoria smiled brightly up at her.

"Oh good, you're awake!" Jemima lit up excitedly.

"Alright...?" Victoria prompted.

"Oh, right." Jemima turned back to the white queen, whose very fur glittered like snow in the midday sun. "So, yesterday I was looking about to try and find Jellylorum, because she wasn't in her den, and I heard this sort of thumping behind me. I was pretending not to notice, but then as I kept walking I could see Pouncival trying to sneak alongside me! I mean, does he honestly think I can't see him?"

"Sometimes you don't," Etcetera smirked.

Jemima's eyes went wide. "He's always following me around, it's such a bother. Don't toms have anything better to do besides brawl with each other and spy on queens?"

Etcetera's smile curled into a small giggle, clearly daydreaming again.

Victoria finished brushing the fluff of her tail. "Aren't you ever going to give him any sort of hope? After this long you must know he more than fancies you."

"Jemima turned up her nose. "Never. Pounce is a good friend… sometimes. But I don't like him like that. Whenever he follows me about I never know if he's just spying on me, or if he's about to lay a prank for me!"

Putting a paw to her nose, Etcetera recoiled with dramatic realization. "You like someone else, Jem, I know it."

"Cettie, shush!" Jemima glared at her to conceal a grin. "You don't know, I haven't told anycat, not even you!"

Electra turned to Jemima in mild surprise.

"It's alright," Victoria's tail twitched knowingly. You don't have to say anything. We'll figure it out soon enough, you know."

Cettie smiled wickedly. Jemima tried to look confidently careless, but nervous traces of unease interrupted her graceful posture. Trying to regain composure in her losing battle, she turned to Electra.

"So you're not sick or anything this morning, Ele?"

"No," Electra thought hard to keep her ears from drooping guiltily.

"Just sleeping in like it's a holiday, dear?" Victoria smiled.

"Uh-huh," Electra nodded. She blinked in surprise as her stomach let out a hungry growl.

Etcetera pounced on her stomach, nose buried curiously in the rusty ginger fur. "Did you eat a monster for breakfast, Ele?"

Pangs of hunger tugged at Electra's appetite. "Er… actually, I haven't eaten today." She grimaced.

"I think you'd better have something," Jemima tried not to smile.

"Right. I'll go see what Plato hasn't eaten." She headed off to her den again.

"That tom eats more than three cats put together," Victoria said as she was walking away.

Electra trotted to her den with a furrowed brow and discovered that Plato had in fact left her some breakfast, quite cold from the long wait. When Electra stepped inside the smell of cooled meat set her belly afire with hunger, but she was also hot with realization. Now was her chance, if she could only sneak out and grasp her opportunity she could steal away without much notice. Quickly devouring the meal before her she barely had time to taste what she was eating. She stepped carefully to the mouth of the den, peering about for watchful eyes. Sensing no one, she dashed out of the bright sunlight warming her den and crept along the shadows to her familiar exit of the large sewer pipe. The dry summer air had lifted the damp lining inside the pipe and leaves crunched under her paws, a more welcome sound than the usual dead splashing she was greeted with in her journeys of the streets of London.

Freedom! She flew across the alleys and streets to the golden meadows, paws hardly touching the ground. The rushing blast of wind in her fur and lungs cut straight through the tired fog and left her mind feeling clear and alive. Electra felt the sleepy weight vanish from her limbs and she kicked out her legs in exhilaration.

Reaching the breezy meadows where the wheat grass whipped against her face as she ran, Electra flopped down in delight and rolled over and over in the field, denting the grass in her wake. She stopped when she could no longer see London's concrete walls or streets, lying on her back. Electra blinked up at the vast landscape of blue above her, pawing at the golden stalks waving in the fringe of her vision that tickled her nose. A slight rumble reached her ears. _I must be purring without noticing it more and more now,_ she reckoned.

Suddenly the smell of another cat loomed over her, and she realized she'd forgotten to mind her surroundings again. Before she had a moment's time to react a voice spoke.

"Electra?"

Electra sat up to meet Caedmon's bewildered face. She bit back a laugh in seeing him again as her heart clouded with joy and surprise and a feeling that left her oddly dazed. The tom's expression melted to one of amusement.

"I thought you were somebody else," Caedmon blew a sigh.

"Who were you expecting?"

"No cat, I just thought you were an-" he broke off.

Electra surveyed him quizzically. "Are you on… patrol?"

"Oh, not right now, but we're sort of always…" he trailed off again.

Electra felt she was asking too many questions. She wrinkled her nose at the silence.

A smile returned to Caedmon's lips. "What were you rolling in the grass for?"

Electra half-smiled in reflective embarrassment. "It just felt so good to be outside, I guess."

Caedmon chuckled warmly with a mysterious smile playing about his mouth. He stepped closer and picked up her paw to examine her more closely.

"With fur like this you'd be quite good at hiding in the darker grass over there, instead of leaving your trail here."

Electra felt a warm shiver run through her arm where he'd touched her. She nodded dumbly.

"Come on, I'll show you." He led her to the shaded edges of the meadow by the trees, still holding her paw. She felt like there was a hot, electrical charge running through her arm from where his paw held hers. It felt as if it were filling her arm with wild, abounding energy and yet at the same time had shocked her limb into a stiff lifelessness. They sat down together in the shaded grass.

"Now, crouch low here," Caedmon instructed while taking a step backward to watch her progress.

It took a moment for Electra to recover from being stunned by the sensation he left in her paw. She blinked and finally responded by flattening herself in the grass.

"Good," he remarked, surveying her camouflage process. "Try to keep your head down, I can still see your ears."

"Oh," Electra answered quietly, and quickly brought her head level with the ground, flattening her ears tightly as well.

"Perfect!" Caedmon made his way back next to her, careful not to tread down the grass. "I can hardly tell you're there." He sat down adjacent to her, crouching in the same manner. "Now, breathe lightly and silently, it creates less noise and movement."

Electra slowed her breathing, glancing at him from the side for approval.

"Exactly," he whispered. He slowly turned his head toward her. "Now," he breathed so softly Electra longed to be closer, to hear more, "listen in the ground, the air, the grass, for any sound or scent of prey or animal… or other cats."

Electra attuned her ears to her surroundings, listening past the hum of the bush crickets and the fluttering birds. Her ears twitched back and forth to locate any noise. Chancing another glance at Caedmon, she saw his hazel and green eyes still gazing softly at her face. Her instinct was to blush and look away, but her joints had frozen stiff and she looked back into his eyes that nearly blended with the tall grass. The sense of duty to continue listening tediously began to dissolve, and she truly saw into his eyes for the first time. His eyes were rimmed with vivid green and fused with a liquid amber sheen, brilliantly capturing the sunlight. But what Electra hadn't seen until she was a paw's length from his nose was the deep bay-brown in their centers, marked distinctly as if paint had been splashed from his pupil to splatter out toward the edge. His eyes were beautifully fascinating and Electra felt she could search them forever and still not have memorized their unique, intriguing lustre. Her head felt light after such a length, as if she must come up for air from his eyes' depth.

Caedmon blinked heavily and began to chuckle distractedly.

"I… I think you've got the sitting still bit learnt rather well now."

Electra slowly mirrored his smile, letting out a small laugh. She realized she hadn't actually drawn a breath since her eyes were caught in his, and the sudden return of oxygen made her blood rush thickly to her head. She blinked hard and wavered unsteadily.

Caedmon's ears pricked up with alertness. "You okay?" he asked, a concerned crease forming on his brow.

"Yeah," Electra was quick to assure him. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Alright." His smile returned. He looked Electra directly in the eyes again for a moment. His smile twanged at the pit of Electra's stomach.

"Tell you what, let's take to the forest, alright? Just on the edge, we don't have to go deep."

Electra was surprised he invited her so close to his home. She nodded, trying not to appear as eager to stay with him as she felt. "I'd love to."

"Alright, I'll take you there. Let's go."

Caedmon lead the way to the forest at an easy pace for Electra, staying close to make sure she didn't fall behind. As they walked Electra tried to sift through her charged thoughts all rolling about like so many marbles inside her head. She felt stunned and honoured that Caedmon would want to spend time with her, a Jellicle and an outsider who should be regarded as nothing more than a nuisance. She thought about the second time their gaze had mutually frozen and how it could make her heart feel racing, and yet petrified all at the same moment. A secret smile edged its way across her mouth and refused to fade away. Electra kept looking at the ground to try and make it disappear, hoping Caedmon wouldn't choose the wrong moment to turn round while she still looked so silly. She vaguely wondered why Caedmon was going a bit slow for her sake. Electra felt like she could race a deer, or even a lion and come out ahead, her limbs were bursting with energy. _ This must be how Aidan feels all the time_, she thought, surprised by her own subconscious. The thought was so unexpected she couldn't hold back a short outburst of laughter, causing Caedmon to turn about and inquire.

"Nothing," Electra tried to brush it off, waving a dismissive paw. She half scolded herself for laughing at nothing at such an awkward time, but she was soon distracted, and her thoughts were swallowed up by the rapid ponderings of her hear. She barely noticed Caedmon looking warily about and constantly scanning the trees with his eyes, which registered in Electra through only a slight thrill in her chest that they would be going someplace secretively. She bit back a second smile and continued to trot along behind the brown and white tabby. They came to a halt on an edge of the forest Electra hadn't seen before, just beyond where the brush and undergrowth lay thickly.

"This is a much better spot," Caedmon sighed after glancing about one last time. He sat lightly on the soft carpet of grass, tail winding about him pensively. Electra tentatively followed suit.

Caedmon looked up at the waving leaves and pine branches above them and breathed deeply.

"So," he turned his head to speak beside her. "You came back." The words were given to her, not asking from her like a question, but also holding a wonderment and almost admiration. Electra shifted gently to sit facing him.

"What led you to return again? Twice, even, when your friends would not come back once."

Electra blinked at the ground, feeling the hot shame of her friends' prejudice as she did whenever she'd looked them in the eye since the day they'd all been re-united. "I think the real question is why would none of the others return. Why would they pretend it never happened and not have to think about it?"

Caedmon was quiet for a moment. "That sounds a lot like guilt to me. Hidden inside where they don't have to let it bother them unless someone else uncovers it, or exposes their true thoughts."

Electra sighed, the faces of Mistofelees, Pouncival, and Jemima flashing through her mind.

"You're different, Electra," he turned to mirror her face to face, searching her deeply again, narrowing his eyes as if to see something that was hidden inside her just out of focus. "You don't think like them, shutting out whatever is different or strange, banishing it from even mention or memory."

Electra shook her head sympathetically. "I believe… they're afraid of you. Of all your tribe, I mean."

Caedmon looked away, his featured unreadable. His thoughts held him in silence for a few long moments.

"You're not frightened of me, Electra?" the tom's eyes resumed studying her, as if to draw out the answer from her before it was spoken.

Electra examined her own heart as she met his gaze. The thrill that flushed from her head to her claws reminded her of receiving a chill fright, but it wasn't, somehow. It left energizing warmth in its wake in such contrast to the cold adrenaline of fear. Electra returned his gaze with equal intensity, searching Caedmon for the answer to his own question. In his eyes she saw a reservoir of laughter ready to spill out onto the rest of his face and on anyone in its wake. She saw a quiet confidence, but also a longing for something she couldn't understand. His eyes offered her the blissful comfort of losing herself in them if she desired to look deeper than their depths. Electra saw nothing to be frightened of.

"No," she smiled. "I'm not afraid." The words blew a sharp, cool gust of new confidence over her, and she felt herself completely separated from the senseless prejudices of the Junkyard she's been surrounded by since her kittenhood. She took a deep breath to steady herself as a freeing sense of relief flooded through her, quenching her burning shame. She no longer had to be burdened with guilt for her friends.

Caedmon watched her ponderings, and a warm smile stole onto his mouth and upward across his right cheek. Electra felt it was his seal of approval, a mark of their understanding that traversed tribes and stood in such contrast from a Jelicle's fearful disregard.

Throwing a glance over his shoulder he turned to her and said with a keen excitement, "Follow me." Caedmon spun about in a flurry and bounded forward, dodging trees and stumps.

"Wha-" Electra took a moment to recover from surprise, and then followed quickly after him. "Where are we going?" she called after him.

"Not far," he answered back. Sure enough he skidded to a halt in another grassy patch, farther along the interior edge of the forest. "No one will bother us here," he told her quietly, though it sounded quite as though her was reassuring himself as well. Electra sat down beside him, chest heaving slightly.

Caedmon batted at a stalk on the ground and a hundred feathery dandelion seeds splashed upwards and danced about Electra's face, tickling her nose and ears. Electra consciously held back a sneeze, looking curiously to Caedmon who had a mischievous shine in his eyes. His infectious mood began to creep through her mind and dissolve her restraint and she found her contained energy was desperate to escape. She turned about and danced around the other trees, letting her flailing paws take her wherever they landed. Caedmon's laugh swelled gently through the clearing, the music to her frantic beat. In a last burst of liveliness Electra leaped high into the air, falling with the breeze until she landed stiffly with uncertain balance, managing, to her relief, to gain her balance before she wobbled. She smiled, proud of her small accomplishment - her spark of vivacity had carried her to spring higher than her balance could follow her, and she'd never quite mastered the graceful poise of Victoria and her friends. She sighed and flopped back on the vast pillow of grass and moss, and a small "flump" announced Caedmon had done the same. A small laugh escaped her chest.

"What were you like as a kitten, Caedmon?" she asked him impulsively.

"What?" He turned his head to face her.

"Kiran talked about himself and JaCoven growing up. What was it like for you?"

Caedmon looked to the sky again, sifting through memories like sand in his paws. An uncertain laugh dropped from his lips; her question had caught him off guard. "Hardly an interesting story. I grew up with my mother like any kit. I played with the other kits in the nursery and learned how to train when I was old enough. I was fast, and clever at things like hiding and tracking. But some cats didn't care. They looked down on me."

Electra watched his features harden. "Why?"

Caedmon looked at her again. "Because of my father. My father disobeyed Macavity, never served the tribe, and he fled from battle. You can guess how much respect that earned him. One day he realized what sort of mess he'd gotten himself into, and he left the tribe. He ran away."

Electra frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry he left you."

"Left me?" A sarcastic smile forced its way onto Caedmon's lips. "If he hadn't run away he'd have been killed by Macavity, surely. He disobeyed too recklessly. But I don't feel sorry. He was a coward, who never understood a thing about duty or loyalty. It's not like I really knew him very well, though. I was fairly young and, well, kits don't really grow up with their fathers, do they?"

Electra thought of her non-existent father, whom Plato hadn't even known. If he had shown any loyalty, could he have saved her mother? "No," Electra answered him quietly. "I suppose not."

"Well, I've promised myself never to be like him," Caedmon continued softly. "I'll prove to them all that I'm not a coward."

Electra smiled slowly. The determined spirit in him reminded her a bit of herself, a thought that took her by surprise. "I guess we're both trying to prove something to our tribes."

Caedmon grinned. "Yeah."

Electra sat up and exhaled heavily, sending her breath to mingle with the warm summer breeze. She leaned back on her paws and gazed softly into the distance. "My brother brought me up since I was very small. I know nothing of my father, and my mother died in the winter after I was born." Caedmon sat up at her side and she continued. "Plato brought us both to the Junkyard, and now it's my home. He doesn't talk about her much, I think he misses her a great deal. But from what he's told me I wish… she was.... Sometimes I miss her, even though I never really knew her. Her name was Diandrea. I love her name, it's beautiful."

"Beautiful," Caedmon exhoed. His fingers wandered lightly toward her and caressed her arm gently. Electra's breath caught in her chest, his fingers felt so sweet on her skin she could almost taste it, like warm nectar dripping through her veins. Caedmon's fingertips traveled down her arm and came to rest as he laid his paw gently on top of hers. The sight of his milky-white paw on her own compressed the remaining air from Electra's lungs in the breath of a laugh. She eagerly sought his gaze, this time Caedmon was slow to bring his eyes to hers. The smile returned to her lips and her heart when she saw his hazel eyes illuminated with the sunlight. The glowing warmth in her chest swelled to the brightness of a star, and with it a gentle purr rose to a crescendo in her throat. Caedmon smiled and swept his gaze downward and wound his fingers in hers, adding his purr to the softly rumbling chorus.

Her fingers knotted in his, Electra and Caedmon talked and didn't talk, caught and avoided each other's eyes, sharing the late afternoon. They sat in the delicate, quiet stillness until the sunlight began to tinge with orange through the trees and the breeze cooled to a steady hum. Caedmon blinked ruefully at the sky, heaving a small sigh. The lateness of the afternoon hour registered beneath his features.

Electra looked up at him. "You have to leave, don't you?"

Caedmon pulled a wry face in acknowledgement. Electra squeezed his paw pleadingly, but he shook his head.

"You'll come again tomorrow, won't you?" he asked her softly, his eyes begging from her the answer she had already prepared.

"Of course! When?" Eagerness laced her reply.

"Just after noon tomorrow, at the field you were in just this morning."

"I'll be there," her eyes began shining with anticipation.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," Caedmon bid her, the playful spark returning to his eye. As Caedmon stepped back his paw lingered in her until just their fingertips were brushing as he slowly pulled away.

"Bye," Electra whispered feebly.

His gaze rested in hers a moment longer before he turn to lope off into the trees with a rustle of leaves.

When Electra pivoted on one paw to face the entrance her face was overtaken by the elated grin she'd barely managed to hold in all afternoon. She leaped and twisted in the air, jumping and kicking out her paws flamboyantly. She somersaulted in the soft grass and flung out her arms to stop her momentum, lying flat with a quiet "thud". Her heart raced and her grin spread so wide she felt her cheeks would split. While sprawled on the forest floor, Electra's heart soared above the trees and through the clouds she smiled up at. She savoured the memory of feeling his paw in hers, and touched her cheek with the fingertips that had tingled in his warmth moments ago. A few single laughs leaked through her smile on their own, and she touched her lips in surprise. Then she let out a true, resonant laugh, long and clear as a churning creek sparkling in the sunlight. The shining star in her bosom fueled and fed from her joyful happiness as it grew and glowed, a warming lantern inside her that shone outwardly through her eyes, her smile, and her wildly dancing paws. As she looked steadily into the sky Electra realized the afternoon was soon being chased into evening, and she also must return home, or she would be missed in the Junkyard. Humming softly to herself as she stood up and walked home, she floated six inches from the ground, never once noticing her paws touch the grass or stony pavement.

Electra hummed to herself the whole way until she turned into the alleys adverse to the Junkyard wall to take her customary entrance through the pipe. She trotted forward, lost in vague daydreams until she heard a voice call her name.

"Ele, you're back! I'm glad, I was sorry to see you'd vanished a second time." Victoria sat on a shoddy crate, fur whiter than cream despite the dust of the alleyway.

Electra blinked, caught off her guard and at a loss for a reply.

Victoria smiled knowingly and jumped down from the crate.

"Ele, just because I'm pretty doesn't mean I'm insensible. I can notice enough to know when you're sneaking out and coming back late."

Electra froze as a fearful thought numbed her brain. Who else suspected her? How much did they know?

Victoria read her defensive expression. "Relax, I don't think anyone else wonders what you're doing yet. You might want to be a bit more careful, though. If you're going to _sneak_ out, you ought to do it properly. The queen sounded oddly knowledgeable about the whole subject.

Half of her tension was released, but Electra was still slightly nervous of being discovered. Her chin began to droop guiltily. Victoria looked sideways at her.

"I can't force you to tell me where you've been, but you've made me quite curious by being positively secretive." She curled her tail about her legs and looked mildly over at her, waiting with endless patience for her response.

Electra weighed her options. She would either have to lie to her friend, or hide the truth from her. Knowing Victoria she would surely just find another, less desirable way of learning the truth if Electra kept it from her.

"Do you promise not to tell the others?" Somehow their friends all knowing she thought romantically of anycat, a Hench, no less, sounded like it would lead to more punishment than she could handle.

"I promise," said Victoria solemnly, meeting her gaze directly with sky-blue eyes.

Electra blew a sigh and wondered where to begin. "Do you remember when we were kits and used to play together with JaCoven and Kirandar and the rest of them?"

Victoria nodded. "Yes, I remember Pouncival saying something about meeting them again few weeks ago."

"Do you remember Caedmon?" Electra continued.

The white queen paused for a moment in thought. "Yes," she gave a small gasp. "Are you sneaking out to see him?"

Electra sat aghast, in wonderment at how quickly Victoria caught on. "Y- yes," she stammered.

Victoria's mouth formed a small "o" of felicity. "How much do you fancy him?"

Electra hesitated, reluctant to confide this to anycat. She couldn't hide anything now. "A lot," she mumbled.

Reflexively Victoria bit her lip, clearly holding back a knowing smile. She was quiet a moment to collect herself, then whispered, "I won't tell."

"Thanks," Electra smiled wearily, hopping Vic was the last person she'd have to explain herself to.

"Would you like to sneak back in with me?" Victoria offered, rising to her paws. "You'll appear less suspicious if we're together."

The gingery-grey tabby smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Vic. You're the best." Electra sent her thankful thoughts as they walked through the Junkyard gates together. Her friend's kindness sent relief washing over her, and she felt her glowing excitement return as she headed for her den in the early evening light. Victoria couldn't resist a gentle smirk before they parted, and Electra smiled, flustered.

Eating dinner absently and reclining on her bed, she lost herself in daydreams of the sunbathed forest and a brown tabby tom at her side.


End file.
